Following Ferrari’s unsuccessful protest against Max Verstappen at the Monaco Grand Prix for allegedly crossing the pit lane, the FIA made it clear that revisions to the regulations over the winter have meant a shift in focus to what drivers can do. pilots.
Whereas previously the rules would be broken if the lines were touched, it has now been clarified that cars must not cross the line with a “full wheel”.
In the notes prior to each test and issued by the Formula 1 race directors up to Monaco, the drivers had been instructed to keep strictly to one side of the line, but as a result of the appointment in Monte Carlo and a modification in F1’s International Sporting Code over the winter, Niels Wittich has changed the message he sends to the teams for this weekend in Azerbaijan.
In the official grand prix notes, in the relevant section on pitlane entry and exit lines for Baku, it was stated: “According to chapter 4, article 4 and 5 of ISC Appendix L, drivers must follow the pit entry and exit procedures.
This means that the participants can cross the lines, as long as the entire tire does not cross them.
What the International Sporting Code says
The rules on the pit entry and exit lines are set out in chapter 4 and 5 of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code. The regulations have been modified for this season so that the infringement does not occur when any “part” of a car has crossed the line, but when it is a tire.
4. Entrance to the pit lane:
a) The section of track from the first safety car row (SC1) to the pitlane is called the “pit entrance”.
b) During the competition, access to the pitlane is only allowed through the pit entrance.
c) Any driver intending to leave the track or enter the pitlane must check that it is safe to do so.
d) Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards), any tire of a car entering the pitlane must not cross, in any direction, any line painted on the tarmac at the pit entrance in order to they separate the single-seaters that enter the pits and those that are on the circuit.
5. Pit lane exit:
a) The section of track from the end of the pitlane to the second safety car line (SC2) is scored as the “pit exit”.
b) There will be a green and a red light (or similar signals) at the pitlane exit. Cars will only be allowed to leave the pitlane when the green light is on (or the signal is displayed).
c) Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards), any tire leaving the pitlane must not cross any line painted on the track at the pit exit in order to separate the cars leaving the pitlane from those that are in the circuit.
